Process of and apparatus for manufacturing wire-glass.



Vl M 0 m n u. 0 s N/f, n m m 6 m A T a m 5 /./av 5 mwa m Q A w QM @M a M m9 M1 y l M m 4 1 ww w m m m 1 2 n; u u E m? 6 M .nlm Smmmmmmmu G m m m m E R W m M U P .www m mm 4 DMAM m n NUHWL m M m E n DNNH o m m 4 MAA 4 u. 4J m m M m M D a im R A. R m .M Mmmm m m m M d ...Huw A H M S m ,5 -www1 l., m1 no. M GMUT r A m sgum m 4 G MRM. W N BLAU m w W M m m M 1 ilu- M M K N w n A M m my noI w m .2 C I. H L O .Q R W, P nw N No- 791,217. y

. UNITED STATES,

i patented May- 30, 1905.-1

PATENT OEEICE.

EDMUND O. SOHMERTZ, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA; RALPH LONGE- NEOKER, ADMINISTRATOR OF SAID EDMUND O. SOHMERTZ, DEOEASED, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE SOHMERTZ WIRE GLASS COMPANY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING WIRE-GLASS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 791,217, dated May 30, 1905.

Application filed April 1, 1895. Serial No. 543,946.

To'abZZ whom t may concern: l

Be it known that I, EDMUND O. SCHMERTZ, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered a new and useful Process of and Apparatus for Manufacturing Wire-Glass, of whichthe following is a specification. v In the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, Figure l is a side elevation of the apparatus employed. .Fig 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is a combined elevation of the left-hand end and asection on line III III of Fig. 2. Fig.l 4 is an edge view of the finished product. Fig. 5 is a broken plan showing the relative situation of the wire and the glass just before the second casting is rolled upon the first sheet; and Fig. 6, a side elevation of glass, wire, and lower D end of wire-chute at same stage.

The purposes of my invention, generallyl stated, are to devise a certain combination of apparatus and such changes in the process of manufacturing wire-glass as will produce a 5 glass with brilliant top surface instead of rough and dull; also, to prevent the glass becoming overchilled in making, so that it will not be excessively hard.

W'ire-glassl as it is now actually manufactured in this country is made in the following manner: The glass is poured upon the usual casting-bed and a roller pulled over the same, developing a sheet of glass of substantially the thickness of the final product. Back i of this roller, which is sometimes termed the smoothing-roller, wire-gauze is fed upon the top of the sheet thus formed from Ia chute or other suitable device. A second corrugated roller now passes over the wiregauze and the sheet of glass and by its ribs deeply indents the wire-gauze in the body of the sheet. A third smooth finishing-roller now travels over the sheet thus corrugated and 'gives a finish to the top of the sheet.

Some of the objections to this method are these. The action of the three rollers chills the top surface of the glass excessively before it can be transferred tothe annealing-kiln. The result is that the glass becomes unduly hard and is diiicult to cut. It is a serious task to cut wirerglass when made underthe-best conditions, and this extra hardening aggravates the situation; but another and more important objection to the method just described lies in the rough top surface produced. The first or leading roll gives a smooth finish to the top. of the glass; but this is immediately ruined by the passage of the corrugated roll in the operation of forcing the wire down into the body of the sheet. This smooth finish is never regained, for although the third roller will efficiently smooth down any elevations on the surface of the glass it will not per-l fectly transfer the surplus .glass to the depressions and lill them up with a perfect weld. An examination therefore of glass' made by by this process will disclose line channels running across the surface which has been uppermost in the process. These channels roughen the surface, making it appear dull and lusterless, and greatly impairits appearance. The unevenness of the surface again adds to the trouble in cuttingthe article, as the diamond will not traverse it with the same ease as a polished surface. I proceed upon a radically different theory of formingv the product and securea sheet with brilliant top surface and also one which is as readily 'cut as is possible with composite articles of this character.

In the accompanying drawings, which make part of this application, 2 is the ordinary casting-table, having the usual racks 3 3 on its longitudinal edges. A A

I 4 are the hand-wheels, which by pinions 5 5 advance the leading roll 6, which may be either smooth or corrugated, and secondary roll 7. These rolls rest upon trangs 8 8, and preferably one-fourth inch in height, and

which determine the thickness of the glass, subject to a special provision in the leading roll hereinafter described.

9 9 are the guides which fix the Width of the sheet and are pushed ahead by the rolls.

l0 10 are the rods connecting the right and left hand guides.

The mechanism thus far described is old and Well known.

1l is a chute for wire 12, located at the rear of the first roll.

The leading roll 6 has its ends 13 13 recessed, lpreferably one-eighth of an inch, so that the body of the roll is left one-eighth of an inch above the bed of the table, while the body of the second roll is one-fourth of an inch above the bed. Obviously these proportional elevations can be obtained in many other ways besides recessing the rolls, and I do not intend to be limited to this precise construction except where specifically claimed. The object 1 have in view is to make the first sheet about one-half the thickness of the resulting product.

The operation of the device is as follows: A ladleful or suitable amount of glass is poured upon the table in advance of the leading roll and the leading roll moved forward. In practice the leading end of the sheet thus formed is discarded as made ofchilled glass. Therefore I do not commence to feed the wire down the chute until the first roll has made a sheet of glass sufficiently long to project about eighteen inches back of the wire-chute. At this stage the wire is fed down upon the top of the sheet and finally lies flat upon the same, as shown in Fig. 5. As the forward or dead end of 'tliesheet of glass moves near the rear roll 1 make a second casting upon said dead end, that the imperfect ends of the two sheets may coincide, and thus eeonomize material. The rear roll advancing crushes down this second casting and forces the same over and through the wire-gauze, firmly welding the material in the second casting to the wiregauze and to the first sheet and firmly uniting the three component parts. A brilliantly-polished top surface is imparted to the product by the passage of the second roll, and the wire is left substantially in the center of the finished sheet, whose thickness will be the height of the rear roller above the bed of the table. The top sheet having only one roller traversing it will not become so chilled as where two or more rolls pass over it, and especially where one is a corrugated roll throwing the glass up in ridges.

My invention is distinguished from the art as practiced in this country not only by the .with unbroken surface formed from a second casting while the first sheet is being completed.

The mechanism for propelling the rollers, introducing the wire, means for determining the thicknesses of the sheets of glass, the thickness of the sheets and their width, as well as other details, may be modified while retaining the salient features of my invention. 1f the leading roll is corrugated, the second roll need not necessarily be in a higher plane above the table than the first roll.

I claim-- l. 'ln the manufacture of wire-glass, the combination of a table; a leading roll; a second finishing-roll and means for introducing the wire by gravity between said leading and finishing rolls.

2. In the manufacture of wire-glass; the combination of a table; a leading roll with recessed ends; a finishing-roll whose body is higher from the bed of the table than the body of the leading roll and means for introducing the wire by gravity between said leading and finishing rolls.

3. An improvement in the process of manufacturing wire-glass which consists in rolling a sheet of glass of less thickness than the ultimate product required; simultaneously feeding by gravity wire upon the top of said sheet at the rear of the leading roll and rolling a second sheet of glass upon said original sheet and the wire, simultaneously embedding the wire and finishing the sheet.

4. An improvement in the process of man ufacturing wire-glass which consists in rolling a sheet of glass of about half the ultimate thickness required; simultaneously feeding by gravity wire upon the top of said sheet at the rear of the leading roll and rolling a second sheet of glass upon said original sheet and the wire, simultaneously embedding the wire and finishing the sheet.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 22d day of March, A. D. 1895.

EDMUND C. SCHMERI'J.

idfitnesses:

WM. L. PIERCE, wWM. A. WAY. 

